Unisys to open development center in India

The IT services company is planning on a five-year investment of $180 million in the site, which will focus on maintenance and help desk services.

28 April 20045:01 pm BST

IT services company Unisys plans to set up a development center in Bangalore, India.

The company will employ about 2,000 people there and invest $180 million in the center during the next five years, executives said Wednesday. The facility will be operational within one year, and employees there will work on software development and handle tasks such as maintenance and technical help desk services, Unisys said

A growing number of U.S. technology companies are opting to open development and engineering centers in India, taking advantage of the cheap, skilled labor there. The trend is causing concern among technology professionals in the United States. Last month, for example, the U.S. wing of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers expressed fears that offshore outsourcing poses threats to the nation's tech leadership.

Unisys said it plans to hire software engineers and data-processing workers directly and also through its local partners. The company has been operating in India through its offices in Mumbai and New Delhi. Unisys said it would continue to use third-party vendors in India for some software development and business process outsourcing work, even after the new center is set up.

"For more than 20 years, our strategy has been to source globally in order to meet client demands. This new Indian operation will add capacity to Unisys global capabilities," Cal Killen, vice president of solution development, said in a statement. "This expansion of global sourcing options supports our commitment to meeting clients' needs while consistently managing costs."